holy

See also: Holy, holý, Holý, holȝ, hoły, hồ ly, and hộ lý

English

Alternative forms

• holie, hooly (archaic)
• Holy (when referring to someone or something important)
• 'oly (pronunciation spelling)

Etymology

From Middle English holi, hali, from Old English hāliġ, hāleġ (“holy, consecrated, sacred, venerated, godly, saintly, ecclesiastical, pacific, tame”), from Proto-West Germanic *hailag, from Proto-Germanic *hailagaz (“holy, bringing health”), from Proto-Germanic *hailaz (“healthy, whole”), from Proto-Indo-European *kéh₂ilos (“healthy, whole”), equivalent to whole +‎ -y and a doublet of later wholly.

Cognates

Cognate with Scots haly (“holy”), West Frisian hillich (“holy”), Low German hillig (“holy”), Dutch heilig (“holy”), German heilig (“holy”), Danish hellig (“holy”), Swedish helig (“holy”). More at whole.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈhəʊli/
• (US) enPR: hōʹlē, IPA^(key): /ˈhoʊli/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -əʊli
• Homophones: wholly, holey (in accents without the wholly-holy split)

Adjective

holy (comparative holier, superlative holiest)

1. Dedicated to a religious purpose or a god.

   I'm planning to visit the holy city of Jerusalem this Christmas.

2. Revered in a religion.

   This tree is considered holy in my culture.

3. Morally perfect or flawless, or nearly so.

   My grandmother is a very holy woman.

4. Separated or set apart from (something unto something or someone else). (Can we add an example for this sense?)
5. Set apart or dedicated for a specific purpose, or for use by a single entity or person.
6. (slang) Used as an intensifier in various interjections.

   Holy cow, I can’t believe he actually lost the race!

   Those children next door are holy terrors!

Synonyms

• (dedicated to a religious purpose or a god): sacred
• (revered in a religion): sacred
• (perfect, flawless): faultless, flawless, perfect
• (separated or set apart from something): sanctified
• (set apart or dedicated for a specific purpose): reserved, special

Antonyms

• (antonym(s) of "revered in a religion"): profane, secular, unholy, worldly
• (antonym(s) of "perfect, flawless"): damaged, defective, faulty, flawed, imperfect
• (antonym(s) of "set apart or dedicated for a specific purpose"): common

Derived terms

• by the holy poker
• court holy bread
• court holy water
• Five Holy Wounds
• for the love of all that is holy
• holier-than-thou
• holier than thou
• holiest of holies
• Holiness
• holiness
• holy balls
• holy bark
• holy basil
• Holy Bible
• Holy Blood
• Holy Body
• holy bone
• Holybourne
• Holybrook
• holy cannoli
• holy card
• holy carp
• holy catfish
• holy cats
• Holy Communion
• Holy Corner
• holy cow
• holy crap
• holy crap on a cracker
• holy crap on a stick
• holy cricket
• holy crickets
• holy cross
• Holycross
• Holy Cross
• holy cross frog
• holy crow
• holy damn
• holyday
• holy day
• holy day of obligation
• holy doodle
• Holy Eucharist
• Holy Family
• holy fire
• holy flax
• holy fool
• Holy Foreskin
• Holy Friday
• holy fuck
• holy fudge
• Holy Ghost
• holy grail
• Holy Grail
• holy grass
• holy guacamole
• holy Hannah
• Holyhead
• holy hell
• holy hour
• Holy Island
• holy kamoley
• holy kamoly
• Holy Koran
• Holy Liturgy
• Holy Loch
• holy macaroni
• holy mackerel
• holy man
• holy moley
• holy moly
• Holy Monday
• holy Moses
• Holy Mother
• Holy Mother of God
• Holyoak
• Holy of Holies
• holy orders
• holy piss
• holy poke
• Holy Prepuce
• Holy Qur'an
• Holy Quran
• Holy Qurbana
• Holy Qurbono
• Holy Qur’an
• holy ravioli
• Holy Roman Empire
• Holyrood
• holy rood
• Holy Sacrifice
• Holy Sacrifice of the Mass
• Holy Saturday
• Holy See
• Holy Sepulcher
• Holy Sepulchre
• holy shamoley
• holy shit
• holy shmoly
• holy show
• Holy Shroud
• holy smoke
• holy smokes
• holy snakes
• Holy Spirit
• holy spirit
• holystone
• holy stromboli
• Holy Sunday
• Holy Sunday Church
• holy synod
• Holy Synod
• holy terror
• Holy Thursday
• holy Toledo
• Holy Trinity
• holy trinity
• holy Trinity
• Holy Tuesday
• holy unblack metal
• holy war
• holy water
• holy-water sprinkle
• holy water sprinkler
• Holy Wednesday
• Holy Week
• Holywell
• Holywood
• holy writ
• Holy Writ
• in the name of all that is holy
• Mount of the Holy Cross
• pope-holy
• Stoke Holy Cross
• take holy orders

 

Related terms

• hallow
• hallowed

Translations

dedicated to a religious purpose

• Aghwan: 𐕌𐕒𐕡𐕟𐕒𐕡𐕙 (muc̣'ur)
• Albanian: shenjtë (sq)
• Amharic: ቅዱስ (ḳədus)
• Arabic: مُقَدَّس m (muqaddas)

  Egyptian Arabic: مقدس (muʔaddas)

• Armenian: սուրբ (hy) (surb)
• Aromanian: sãntu, sãmtu
• Azerbaijani: müqəddəs
• Bashkir: мөҡәддәс (möqəddəs)
• Belarusian: святы́ (svjatý), свяшчэ́нны (svjaščénny)
• Bulgarian: свят (bg) (svjat), свеще́н (bg) (sveštén)
• Catalan: sagrat (ca), sagrada (ca) f, sant (ca) m, santa (ca) f
• Chagatai: مقدس
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 神聖／神圣 (zh) (shénshèng), 聖／圣 (zh) (shèng)

• Czech: svatý (cs)
• Dalmatian: suant
• Danish: hellig
• Dutch: heilig (nl), sacraal (nl), gewijd (nl)
• Egyptian: (ḏsr)
• Esperanto: sankta
• Estonian: püha
• Faroese: heilagur, halgur
• Finnish: pyhä (fi)
• French: saint (fr), sacré (fr)
• Friulian: sant
• Galician: sagrado (gl) m, sacro (gl) m
• Ge'ez: ቅዱስ (ḳədus)
• Georgian: წმინდა (c̣minda)
• German: heilig (de)
• Gothic: 𐍅𐌴𐌹𐌷𐍃 (weihs)
• Greek: άγιος (el) (ágios)

  Ancient: ἅγιος (hágios), ἱερός (hierós), ὅσιος (hósios)

• Greenlandic: illernartoq
• Guaraní: marangatu (gn)
• Hebrew: קדוש (he) m (ka'dosh), קדושה f (kdo'sha)
• Hidatsa: xubáa
• Hindi: पवित्र (hi) f (pavitra)
• Hungarian: szent (hu)
• Hunsrik: heilich
• Icelandic: heilagur (is), helgur
• Indonesian: kudus (id), keramat (id)
• Irish: beannaithe, naofa
• Istriot: santo
• Italian: sacro (it)
• Japanese: 神聖 (ja) (しんせい, shinsei), 聖なる (ja) (せいなる, sei naru)
• Kashubian: swiãti
• Korean: 거룩한 (ko) (georukhan), 신성한 (ko) (sinseonghan)
• Latin: sacer (la)
• Latvian: svēts (lv)
• Lithuanian: šventas
• Luxembourgish: helleg (lb)
• Macedonian: свет m (svet)
• Malay: suci (ms)
• Malayalam: പരിശുദ്ധ (ml) (pariśuddha), വിശുദ്ധ (ml) (viśuddha)
• Maori: tapu (mi)
• Mari: шнуй (šnuj)
• Navajo: diyin
• Norman: saint
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: hellig (no)

• Occitan: sant (oc)

  Old Occitan: sant

• Old Church Slavonic: свѧтъ (svętŭ)
• Old English: hāliġ
• Ottoman Turkish: مقدس (mukaddes)
• Persian: مقدس (fa) (moqaddas), اسپنتا (espantâ), سپنتا (fa) (sepantâ)
• Plautdietsch: heilich
• Polish: święty (pl) m
• Portuguese: santo (pt), sagrado (pt), sacro (pt)
• Rapa Nui: tapu
• Romanian: sfânt (ro) m or n, sfântă (ro) f
• Romansch: sontg, sogn, son, sench, sonch
• Russian: свято́й (ru) (svjatój), свяще́нный (ru) (svjaščénnyj)
• Sardinian: santu
• Scots: haly
• Scottish Gaelic: naomh, coisrigte
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: свет

  Roman: svet (sh)

• Sicilian: santu (scn)
• Slovak: svätý
• Slovene: svet (sl)
• Sorbian:

  Lower Sorbian: swěty

• Spanish: santo (es), sagrado (es)
• Swedish: helig (sv)
• Tatar: мөкаддәс (mökaddäs)
• Thai: ศักดิ์สิทธิ์ (th) (sàk sìt)
• Tibetan: please add this translation if you can
• Turkish: kutsal (tr), mukaddes (tr)
• Turkmen: mukaddes
• Ugaritic: 𐎖𐎄𐎌 (qdš)
• Ukrainian: святи́й (svjatýj), свяще́нний (svjaščénnyj)
• Urdu: مقدس (ur) (muqaddas)
• Uyghur: مۇقەددەس (muqeddes)
• Uzbek: muqaddas (uz)
• Venetian: santo
• Vietnamese: thánh (vi) (聖), thần thánh (vi)
• Welsh: sanctaidd (cy)
• Yiddish: הייליק (heylik)
• Yup'ik: tanqilria

revered in a religion

• Armenian: սուրբ (hy) (surb)
• Belarusian: святы́ (svjatý), свяшчэ́нны (svjaščénny)
• Bulgarian: свят (bg) (svjat)
• Catalan: sant (ca)
• Czech: svatý (cs) m, posvátný (cs) m
• Dutch: heilig (nl), sacraal (nl)
• Faroese: heilagur
• Finnish: pyhä (fi)
• French: saint (fr), bénit (fr)
• German: heilig (de)
• Gothic: 𐍅𐌴𐌹𐌷𐍃 (weihs)
• Greek: άγιος (el) (ágios)

  Ancient: ἅγιος (hágios)

• Greenlandic: iluartoq
• Indonesian: keramat (id)
• Irish: naofa
• Italian: santo (it)
• Lakota: wakȟáŋ
• Latin: sanctus (la), sacer (la)
• Macedonian: свет m (svet)
• Malayalam: വിശുദ്ധ (ml) (viśuddha)
• Maori: tapu (mi)
• Navajo: diyin
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: hellig (no)

• Old Church Slavonic: свѧтъ (svętŭ)
• Old English: hāliġ
• Plautdietsch: heilich
• Polish: święty (pl) m
• Portuguese: sagrado (pt) m, sacro (pt)
• Quechua: willka
• Romanian: sfânt (ro) m or n, sfântă (ro) f
• Russian: свято́й (ru) (svjatój), свяще́нный (ru) (svjaščénnyj)
• Scots: haly
• Scottish Gaelic: naomh
• Slovak: svätý
• Sorbian:

  Lower Sorbian: swěty

• Spanish: santo (es)
• Turkish: kutsal (tr)
• Ukrainian: святи́й (svjatýj), свяще́нний (svjaščénnyj)
• Welsh: sanctaidd (cy)
• Yup'ik: tanqilria

flawless

• Bulgarian: безупречен (bg) (bezuprečen)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 聖潔／圣洁 (zh) (shèngjié)

• Dutch: foutloos (nl), (in expression: ... huisje) heilig (nl), volmaakt (nl), perfect (nl)
• Finnish: pyhä (fi)
• Indonesian: suci (id)
• Italian: immacolato (it)
• Portuguese: imaculado (pt)
• Russian: свято́й (ru) (svjatój)

separated from or set apart

• Catalan: sagrat (ca)
• Finnish: pyhitetty (fi)
• Rapa Nui: tapu

dedicated for a specific purpose

• Armenian: սուրբ (hy) (surb)
• Catalan: sagrat (ca)
• Dutch: heilig (nl)
• Finnish: pyhitetty (fi)
• Greek: ιερός (el) (ierós)
• Hebrew: קדוש (he) m (ka'dosh), קדושה f (kdo'sha)
• Latin: sacer (la)
• Scottish Gaelic: coisrigte

slang intensifier

• Faroese: halga
• Finnish: pyhä (fi)
• Polish: święty (pl) m
• Russian: свято́й (ru) (svjatój), бо́жий (ru) (bóžij)
• Turkish: be mübarek

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Afrikaans: ^{(please verify)} heilig (af)
• Albanian: ^{(please verify)} shenjtë (sq)
• Esperanto: ^{(please verify)} sankta
• French: ^{(please verify)} saint (fr) m, ^{(please verify)} sainte (fr) f
• German: ^{(please verify)} heilig (de)
• Hungarian: ^{(please verify)} szent (hu)
• Korean: ^{(please verify)} 신성한 (sinseonghan)
• Kurdish:

  Central Kurdish: ^{(please verify)} پیرۆز (pîroz)

• Maltese: ^{(please verify)} sagru m, ^{(please verify)} sagra f, ^{(please verify)} sagri pl, ^{(please verify)} mqaddes m, ^{(please verify)} mqaddsa f, ^{(please verify)} mqaddsin pl
• Old English: ^{(please verify)} hāliġ
• Romanian: ^{(please verify)} sfânt (ro)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: ^{(please verify)} свето n

  Latin: ^{(please verify)} sveto n

• Serbo-Croatian: ^{(please verify)} svet (sh)
• Serbo-Croatian: ^{(please verify)} svet (sh)
• Slovene: ^{(please verify)} svet (sl)
• Swedish: ^{(please verify)} helig (sv)
• Telugu: ^{(please verify)} పవిత్రమైన (te) (pavitramaina), ^{(please verify)} పవిత్ర (pavitra)

Interjection

holy

1. (slang) An expression of astonishment and awe.

   Synonym: holy shit

Usage notes

• (MTE) When spoken aloud, the first syllable is elongated ("Hoooly!") and stress is placed on the second syllable.

Noun

holy (plural holies)

1. (archaic) A thing that is extremely holy; used almost exclusively in Holy of Holies.
   • 1882, Franz von Reber, Joseph Thacher Clarke, History of Ancient Art, page 146:

     The holy of holies, a cubical space of ten cubits on the side, was separated from the larger antechamber by four columns, which were also covered with gold and stood upon silver sockets; they bore a second curtain of four colors.

Derived terms

• holiest of holies
• Holy of Holies

Translations

holy thing

• Finnish: pyhä (fi)
• Hebrew: קדש (he) (kodesh)
• Macedonian: светиња f (svetinja), светост f (svetost)
• Russian: святы́ня (ru) f (svjatýnja)
• Swedish: helgedom (sv)

Anagrams

• hylo-

Middle English

Etymology 1

From Old English hāliġ, from Proto-West Germanic *hailag, from Proto-Germanic *hailagaz; equivalent to hool +‎ -y.

Alternative forms

• hooly, holi, hooli, holye, holie, holly, hoolly, holli, hoolli, oly, oli, wholy, woly, hole, hali, haly, hayly, aly, ali, hale, hely, heli, holiȝ, holiȝe, holia, halge, halege, halȝe, hallȝhe, haliȝ, haliȝe, halie

Adjective

holy (plural and weak singular holye, comparative holyere, superlative holyest)

1. Dedicated to or separated for a religious purpose; sacred, consecrated.
2. Characterized by virtue or perfection.
   • 1407, The Testimony of William Thorpe, page 37:

     […] of moost holi lyuynge, and best taught and moost wyse of heuenly wysdom […]

     […] of the most holy living, and the best-taught and wisest heavenly wisdom […]

Related terms

• halyday
• halywater
• Holigost
• holite
• holy bred
• holy crosse
• holy rode
• holy writ
• holyhede
• holyliche
• holynesse
• holyschupe
• lyfholy
• lyfholynesse
• pompholy
• popholy
• þurȝhali

 

Descendants

• English: holy
• Scots: haly, halie
• Yola: holly, holy

Noun

holy (plural holies)

1. The state of being holy; holiness.
2. One who is sanctified or made holy; a saint, hallow
3. A sacred place; a sanctuary

Derived terms

• alle goddis holy
• holy of holies

Descendants

• English: holy

References

• “holi, adj.(2).”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 4 August 2018.
• “holi, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 4 August 2018.

Etymology 2

From hol +‎ -y.

Alternative forms

• holi, holly, holli

Adjective

holy

1. Full of holes or cavities; porous, spongy; hollow.

Derived terms

• holinesse

Descendants

• English: holey

References

• “holi, adj.(1).”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 4 August 2018.

Yola

Adjective

holy

1. Alternative form of holly
   • 1867, “THE WEDDEEN O BALLYMORE”, in SONGS, ETC. IN THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY, number 6, page 96:

     To our pleoughès an mulk-pylès till a neeshte holy die.

     To our ploughs and our milk-pails till the next holiday.

References

• Jacob Poole (d. 1827) (before 1828) William Barnes, editor, A Glossary, With some Pieces of Verse, of the old Dialect of the English Colony in the Baronies of Forth and Bargy, County of Wexford, Ireland, London: J. Russell Smith, published 1867, page 96